Wearable external infusion devices and systems are relatively well known in the medical arts for use in delivering or dispensing a prescribed medication to a patient. In one form, such devices comprise a relatively compact pump housing adapted to receive a syringe or reservoir carrying a prescribed medication for administration to the patient through infusion tubing and an associated catheter or infusion set.
Modular wearable external devices have been described where a portion housing a pumping mechanism is reusable and a portion housing a reservoir is disposable. The portion housing the reservoir is releasably securable to the portion housing the reservoir. The portion housing the reservoir may be swapped out for a new portion housing a reservoir filled with fresh therapeutic agent when the reservoir is empty or becomes nearly empty, when the therapeutic agent in the housing has exceeded its shelf life, etc. Examples of multi-component wearable infusion pump assemblies having disposable and reusable components are described in, for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0281497, published on Nov. 12, 2009 and entitled WEARABLE PUMP ASSEMBLY, which patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety to the extent that it does not conflict with the disclosure presented herein.
In some forms, modular external infusion devices having releasably securable components require a good deal of dexterity to lock and unlock the components. For certain patient populations, such as those having diabetes, the locking mechanism and actions required to lock and unlock the components (e.g., to swap out an older component housing a reservoir with a newer component housing a reservoir with fresh therapeutic agent) present little challenge. However, for other patient populations, including patients that suffer from movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, the locking and unlocking mechanisms and actions required to lock and unlock components can present significant challenges.